Should've Walked Away
by LuvsItalianFood
Summary: Alexis is your average girl with a few exceptions. Okay, so she isn't average. With a drunk mom, her dad never being around, and friends betraying her, what does she result to? She decides to run away.


**_Ok. So this is my story. Well, the first story I've submitted on fanfiction. Let me know what you think. I have started this whole writing phase, and I can't seem to get ideas to come to me at a slower pace. But I would love to hear what you guys have to say and reviews. I wouldn't mind to see what ideas you guys have in store. I would be glad to give you credit when you help me because it means a WHOLE lot to me. So, this is the prologue/1st chapter. I hope you like it!_**

_**Prologue**_

Sometimes I wonder what would've happened had I not set foot out the door and walked away. But then I think where would I be? Would I be as strong as I am now? Or would I still be a coward? Sometimes I think it was for the best. To just turn around and never look back. I just wish I could see how all of them are doing now. Do they even care that I'm gone? Did they even _notice_ that I had left? After all, I didn't tell anyone where I was going or when I would be back… If I were to return, which I doubt will be anytime soon. I believe in myself, as do I believe in the one person who was beside me this whole time. The only person I've ever truly trusted. The only person I could truly rely on.

The only person that ever really cared about me.

As you have probably noticed, I ran away from home. I was about 15 then, 17 now. I'll have been gone for about two years now. You're probably confused about why I left in the first place. What could've been so bad that I just got up and walked away? Everything was wrong. Out of the three friends I thought I could trust there were only two. Mandy, the one I could no longer trust had gone behind my back, telling the whole school that my mom beats me and that she's an alcoholic. She told everyone about my dad never being home and taking care of me. She told them everything.

Ashley, a year older than me, was one of my first and best friends. We told each other everything and anything there was to tell. Gracie was another close friend except she was my age. We were like the three amigas: Inseparable for life. That is… Until I made a decision.

I was going to run away. That very same day I found out Mandy had betrayed me, I was put in the hospital. By my mom… The woman who had given birth to me. So, as you can see, my life was horrible. I did have friends, the ones I could semi-trust, but I just didn't want to be surrounded by so many people. I just had to get away from it all. I told Gracie about what I was going to do and she said I was crazy.

And that I couldn't do it alone. So we ran away. Together.

So, I'll take you back to where and when I ran away. You tell me what would've been the best in the end: running away from it all and never looking back? Or staying and trying to solve all of my problems? Though you may say choice number 2 now, read about my life story…

**_Chapter 1_**

It was just another day as I got out of bed and went to brush my teeth. My body was in a rush of pain as I reached for my hairbrush. I was aching everywhere and every-thing I did took every muscle in my body. What was it? Oh, now I remember. It was because of my mom. Well, the psycho that happens to live under the same roof as I do. I sighed and brushed my hair as I thought about what happened last night.

_I hadn't cooked dinner for her because I was hanging out with Mandy. I had lost track of time and rushed home to start dinner. As soon as I set foot into the house I was pulled in by my hair and pushed to the floor. "Where the hell where you?" I screamed in pain as she kicked my stomach. "Don't just lay there, answer me!" She kicked me in the stomach as she pulled me back up by my hair. I was screaming and crying so hard that I could barely say:_

_"Please, stop! You're hurting me!" This is what happened if I didn't do things her way. Yeah, my mom beats me. Fun? Not even close._

_"Then answer me! Where were you? I'm starving!" My mom kicked me in the leg, causing me to fall back to the floor. "Get up and stay up! Now answer me! Where were you?"_

_"I- I was hanging out with M-Mandy, mom… I'm sorry. I'll cook dinner right now if you'll just stop hurting me." She looked at me and I was scared half to death. "I'll make your favorite." I gave a weak, innocent smile._

_She sighed angrily and said, "Fine. Make sure to have my beer ready when I sit in my seat. Speaking of which, grab me one now." I nodded scared and nervous, unsure of what would happen had I not obeyed her. I grabbed her beer and began making dinner…_

I sighed once more and finished getting ready for school. I went downstairs hoping to get outside and wait for Ashley to come and pick me up without my mom noticing. Once I got downstairs, I heard a gentle voice say, "Good morning darling. How are you? Did you sleep well?" My dad. He has no clue what goes on here at home because he's never at home. He's always busy on business trips and stuff with work. That's why I never bother to bring things up about home.

"I slept…" I tried to search for the right word. _Painfully? No… Awkwardly? Nope… Fine? Yeah… Yeah, that always works with parents._ "I slept fine. It's been going pretty well. I'm doing better in school! All A's last semester. I'm hoping to pull that off again this semester, too."

He kissed my forehead and I winced, but dad didn't notice. He never notices anything. "That's great sweetie." He paused. "Do you know why mom is passed out on the couch?" Except for that.

"You know what?" I was about to burst when I told myself no. He doesn't need to worry about me or have more stress on top of work. I can take care of myself. "I have no clue. Maybe…" A car was honking outside. "Looks like my ride is here. See you later, dad." I kissed his cheek and he pulled me into a hug. A tear slipped fast down my cheek as the pain was coming back. It felt as if I were living in the same moment I was beaten last night.

"I love you sweetie." He kissed the top of my head and pulled away from the hug.

My voice was ready to crack but I managed to keep it steady. "I love you too, daddy." I pulled him into a tighter hug, trying to erase all the pain as I was hugging him. I never liked to say goodbye to him. It was always like my heart was ripped out of my chest when he said the words that always came next.

"Goodbye, hun. Have a great day at school. I'll see you soon." He kissed my head one more time and I was out the door.

"What took you so long, Coo Coo?" I looked at Gracie and laughed as I slipped into the back seat. I buckled and leaned forward in between the two front seats and looked at both Ashley and Gracie. Ashley started to back up out of my driveway.

"You know that I'm coo coo for Coco Puffs! Anyways," I looked at Gracie and sighed. "I was just saying bye to my dad. I would've said bye to my mom too… If she weren't passed out on the couch." I sighed and sat back. Gracie turned towards me.

"When'd your dad get home?" I shrugged. "What do you mean you don't know? How could you not know?"

"Beats me." I shrugged once more. "So, what's up with my two crazy cats?" We all busted up laughing. "Let me guess." I pointed at Ashley then at Gracie as I said, "You finally beat her at ping pong? Did you Ashley?" She shook her head and I started laugh-ing again. "I beat her ages ago and you still haven't? How is that possible?" I was still laughing as we pulled into Mandy's driveway and Ashley honked.

"For your information," Ashley turned and looked back at me. "I got a date to the school dance. Are you guys lucky enough to get dates?" She smirked and looked back and forth between Gracie and I as we did our silent communication.

Gracie finally smiled as we came to an agreement and she said, "Actually, we do." I smirked as I saw Ashley's facial expression change.

Ashley mouth gaped open and her eyes went large. "No way! With who?" I saw Mandy escape her house and make her way towards the car. I texted her something really quick so that Ashley wouldn't see.

Gracie smiled when she saw me hide away my phone before Ashley could see it and said, "Oh, somebody. You already have a date and I don't want you to be jealous of ours. Our dates totally rock."

Ashley sighed and said, "Aw, come on guys! Please? Will you tell me who your dates are? Please? Ok… Let me guess…" This may take a while. She pointed at Gracie, "Um… Eddie?" She shook her head. "No? Um…" Mandy opened the car door and smiled.

"So? What are we talking about?" She winked at me to tell me she got the text. "Let me guess…" She pointed at Ashley then Gracie as she said, "You finally beat her at ping pong?" I busted up laughing. She high fived me as she said, "Ok, Ash. We gots a proposition for ya."

"What's the catch? You guys always seem to want something from me. What do you want this time? Last time it was a shopping spree-" She cut herself off as she started to think about something. "You guys do know you owe me money right?"

Gracie jumped in and said, "Whatever could you possibly mean by that, Ashley? We don't owe you any money." Ashley just rolled her eyes.

"What will it take for you guys to tell me who your dates are?" I smiled. Finally, we're getting somewhere.

I said, "All we want is for you to tell us who your date is." She was about to say something when Mandy added:

"And let us do your hair!" Ashley turned back around in the front seat and started driving.

Ashley was about to answer to that when Gracie then added, "And your make-up!"

"You guys are really annoying. You know that?" Ashley shook her head. "Fine. But same thing goes for all of you three. We'll do all of each other's hair and make-up and such. Deal?" We were all holding in our laughter so we just nodded. "Ok. My date is Derek. You know, the one in my pre-calculus class that I'm always telling you about?"

We all nodded and I said, "No way. And you said yes?" She nodded and gripped the wheel a little tighter.

"Now tell me who your dates are! I'm, like, dying to know!" I looked at Gracie then Mandy.

We said at the same time:

"Mandy and Gracie!"

"Gracie and Alexis!"

"Alexis and Mandy!"

We all laughed and looked at Ashley. She was laughing to as we pulled in to the school parking lot. "Man, you guys were right. I _am_ jealous of your dates. I wish I had a date as cool as you guys!" We were still laughing when we got out of Ashley's car. We all said goodbye as we went into the school and to our lockers. I was trying to open my locker. It didn't open the first time so I tried again. It opened and I started to pull out my books. I was about to pull out my language arts book when someone slammed my locker shut.

"What do you want, Josh?" I turned around and looked at him, annoyed like any other day. He always seems to want something from me. Why you ask? I don't know either. I started to turn the lock on my locker as he started talking. He is so annoying.

"Oh, you know. The same thing I ask you everyday." He smirked and started checking me out. Lo-ser.

I rolled my eyes and said, "No, Josh. I won't go out on a date with you. Stop asking because the answer will never change. Just leave me alone." I tried to get out of his grip as he grabbed my waist.

"Oh, c'mon. Why not?" I shook my head and broke free from his hold.

"Just leave me alone Josh." I left him standing there and headed off to first period.

I walked into the class and sat next to Mandy. "Hey Alexis. What is Josh's problem? I saw him talking to you before class."

I sighed and said, "I don't know what his problem is or why he can't leave me the heck alone but you know. Some things may never change. Like," I looked around and lowered my voice. "Like my mom."

"Again? Sheesh. That woman needs to stop drinking and learn to stop hurting." She said, her voice in a low whisper. "I swear-"

The teacher walked in. "Silence." Everyone dropped their voices to a low whisper, which turned into a slight murmur and then: complete silence. "Now, for today…" She continued her boring lesson as I started to pass notes to Gracie.

Me: _So, what were you doing last night? Anything?_

Gracie: _Nah. Nothing to do._

I silently giggled and wrote: _Really? You're you. How is that possible?_

Gracie glared at me and wrote:_ Haha. Sooo funny. You should be a comedian._

I smiled and wrote: I do try my very best!

She replied: _Ya. I'm sure you do. Anyways, what are you doing tonight?_

I wrote: _Gonna spend the night at your house. Is that cool? Don't wanna go home to my mom._

Gracie: _Totally. We can invite Ashley and Mandy too. Ok?_

Me: _Sure. That's fine with me. Anything to get away from... her._

Gracie: _No problem. I'll pass a note to Mandy now._

She looked up and looked at Mandy. She looked back down and wrote something on a piece of paper. She passed it to Mandy and Mandy nodded.

I wrote back to Gracie: _That's cool. We'll tell Ash after class._

She nodded and wrote: _Sure. Let's try and learn something now. Ha-ha._

I giggled and looked at the teacher. "Which is why-" The bell rang. "Don't forget about your homework. I'll be checking it tomorrow. Class dismissed." Everyone ran out the door. Mandy, Gracie, and I were the last ones out of the classroom.

"Hey Ash!" I called out as we saw Ashley about to turn a corner to another hallway. "Ashley, wait up!" Everyone else ran up to Ashley to go tell her about our sleepover tonight. I would've gone with them too. That is, if I hadn't been pulled into a storage closet. I tried screaming but that didn't work because someone's hand went over my mouth almost immediately.

"Shhh!!! Don't scream!" I was furious once I recognized whom the voice belonged to.

I yanked his hand off of my mouth and said, "What the heck, Josh?! Did you wanna scare me half to death? Gosh…" He laughed slightly. "What's so funny 'bout that?"

"Oh, just your reaction. I just thought I would try and ask you out again. But I wanted to try something different…" I was more confused then furious now.

"What do you-" I couldn't finish my sentence because a warm hand slid around my neck as soft lips came against mine. I felt these sparks. I didn't know what it was, but it felt right, so I kissed him back. I slowly pulled away, my eyes still closed when I said, "Whoa…" My eyes fluttered open.

"So? What do you say?" I looked down slightly. After all this time of our endless routine, him asking me out and me saying no, I finally decided I would change something. Maybe I should give him a chance…

I sighed as I thought about it. "Okay… Sure. Why not?"

Even in the dark, I knew that he had a smile growing upon his face. "I knew that might change your mind. So… Tomorrow? I'll pick you up at 7:30?" I looked back up and straight into his deep, chocolate brown eyes and practically melted. Why did I feel like this now? I've never felt this way towards him before. The way his voice sounded made me go weak in the knees. That kiss, though only my first, made me feel like I could do anything and left me speechless.

"I… Um… Uh… Sure. You remember where I live?" He nodded. Oh, did I forget to mention that he used to be my best friend in the entire world? Oops? Yeah… We were best friends up until freshman year when he started to like me and we got kind of distant. Then, when he started asking me out in sophomore year, and we lost almost all connection. I'm not really sure why though. It never really bothered me that he liked me.

"Yeah. I remember where you live. How could I forget?" He smiled. "How are your parents?" He asked as he opened the door for me to walk out. But I didn't walk out. I didn't even move. I just looked back down as a single tear rolled down my cheek and held on to my chin. The last time he'd seen them was before the beginning of freshman year, when we were all together and happy. My dad had never gone on business trips, my mom was never drunk, and I was never abused.

"Oh… Um… They're… You know…" He looked at me confused and pulled me into a hug. I burst out crying. The bell rang and the halls were emptying but I didn't care and apparently neither did Josh.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay at home?" I wanted to tell him so bad but I wasn't sure if I could trust him the way I used to trust him. So much has changed since then. With my parents and everything going on, was it safe to tell him? All these thoughts went away as he hugged me tighter and started stroking my hair. "Why are you crying?"

I pulled away from the hug and looked back into his eyes. In a soft whisper, I said, "Can I trust you?"

"Of course you can. You know I would never tell anyone something you tell me not to say anything about. Remember that crush you had on Michael in seventh grade?" I nodded and he smiled proudly. "I still haven't told anyone about that. Never even slipped my mind that you didn't want me to say anything to anybody. You know you can trust me." He gave me a comforting smile as I took a deep breath.

"Okay… Well, remember how I told you about my dad getting fired from his old job during freshman year?" He nodded. "Well, he got another job that requires being on so many business trips. He's almost never home."

"Oh… I'm so sorry. Is there anything else?" He had this sympathetic look on his face. He looked like he was trying to find words that would make me feel better, but he remained quiet and let me continue.

"Yeah. The more my dad was away from the house, the more my mom started to drink, until he was almost never home. I would come home from school and my mom would start beating me." I lifted my shirt to show Josh my stomach. He saw the big blue and black mark on my stomach. He touched it lightly and I winced, so he pulled his hand back quickly. "And it's been like this since the middle of freshman year." A tear slid down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it away. "Please… Please don't tell anyone, Josh. I trust you; more than anyone. The only people that know about this are Ashley, Gracie and Mandy. Don't let them beat you up if they ask how you know. Tell then that I put my trust in you." He smiled and I smoothed out my shirt. I kissed Josh's cheek and whispered in his ear, "Thank you."

"No problem." He smiled and put his arm around my shoulder as we started to walk out of the storage closet. "Now, do you want to go back to class, little missy?"

I giggled and said, "No. I don't want to learn today. Can we ditch?" He sighed and looked at me with a big smile.

"I thought you might say that. To the park, then?" I nodded as he grabbed my hand and we ran out of the school.

. . .

I ran to my house after school was supposed to be out. I got to the front of the house and started to climb up to my window. I may have killed a flower or two on my windowsill, but that's better than getting beat up by my mom… That is, if she's even home. All of a sudden I heard a faint knock on the door. "Sweetie?"

"Dad?" I went over to the door and opened it. "What are you doing here? Don't you have some business trip you're supposed to be on?"

He smiled a little. "I don't leave until tomorrow. I thought that maybe my daughter would like to meet a friend of her father's. Of course… If she wants to." I smiled and gave him a hug.

"Sure, daddy. I would love to." He hugged back and kissed me on the forehead.

"But," _Oh, gosh._ "Before we do anything, you have to finish your homework." I sighed. No matter what the argument, my dad would always win. No questions asked.

"Fine. I'll be done in about an hour." He nodded and went downstairs. All of a sudden, a tall, beautiful woman stood in my doorway. "Mom?" She smiled.

"How's it going, girly? What have you been up to? How's school?" Well, she would know if she weren't always drunk.

I smiled fakely and said, "Fine. Everything is just fine. I couldn't ask for better." The biggest lie I've ever made. I would ask for my dad to be around much more often, I would ask that my mom was never an alcoholic. I would ask for a lot of things. Including that Josh was still my friend through this whole process. And that I wasn't beaten and- Well… You get the point.

"That's good. So… We're all going out to dinner. We're going to be meeting someone your dad works with. It's very important to him."

Man, did I wish dad were home more often. Mom was being so much nicer. If dad were home, she would always be this nice. I would give anything to be a happy family again. "That's great! I can't wait. When are we going?"

"Once you finish your homework, get ready for the dinner. Your father wanted us to meet his friend's son too." A smile spread across my face. Someone that could relate to what I was going through.

"Does his father go on a lot of business trips too?" She nodded. "Does he go to my school?"

"Well, he used to go on his fathers business trips, but he got tired of moving around all the time and not having any friends. He'll be starting at your school next week. The reason we wanted you to meet him is because we were hoping you would be able to show him around the school and where his classes were. He has the same schedule as you, so he could meet some of your friends. This would mean a lot to your father. Is that alright with you?" I nodded and gave her a hug. I missed this so much. I just wished she could think the same thing, but she couldn't. She doesn't even remember last night.

She pulled away and smiled. "Now, finish your homework and be ready by 5:30." She looked at my clock on the nightstand. "You have about 2 hours for homework and getting ready for the dinner." She looked back at me. "Will you be ready by then?"

"Yeah mom." I hugged her again and let go as I said, "I love you."

She started stroking my hair and kissed my head. "I love you too, hunny." She walked back out into the hallway and closed my door behind her.

I picked up my phone and called Gracie. She answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Gee." I heard Mandy laughing in the background. "Put me on speaker." I heard some noise in the background and all of a sudden it turned quiet.

"No one else is here. Why would I put it on speaker?" Ashley giggled. "Shush!!!"

"Nice try. Put it on speaker." No movement. "Now!"

"Ok, gosh." She put me on speaker and said, "So, what's up? Why aren't you here yet? Couldn't get away without your mom noticing?"

A smile slowly spread across my face as I thought about what happened just a few minutes earlier. It had been the first time my mom was sober in a while. "No. That's not it at all…" I told them about my conversation with my dad and then with my mom.

"Really?" Ashley said, acting totally serious. "That's really good for you. Tell me how cute this boy is. Get a picture or something. I wanna see him."

I heard whispering. "Guys, you know you want to spy on me and, to be honest, I kinda want you there. Just in case. I don't want to be alone in this. Please?"

"Psh… What are you talking about? We weren't going to…" Mandy started to say. "Ok. So we were. How did you know?"

"How could you not know? You guys were probably going to do that on my date tomorrow with-" I stopped myself. Now they're going to question. Why did I have to open my big mouth?

"Who? Who do you have a date with? Who is it? Don't make us come over to your house and read-" Someone must've covered Ashley's mouth. _She reveals secrets more than I do. She's like the gossip queen in our group. She knows everything that go on in the school and in our neighborhood. If you never know the latest, know Ashley._

"Read what?" _They probably read my diary_, I thought. "Oh, I can't believe you guys! Have you read it before?"

_Silence._

"GUYS!"

"Ok, ok. So we have." Gracie admitted as Mandy and Ashley agreed in the background, though it was more of a mumble.

"How much did you read?" Ashley mumbled something. "What was that?"

"So we read it all… Not that big a deal."

"ALL OF IT??? Do you guys have any respect for my privacy?"

No's and Not really's were said. "We read it when you were being really secretive with us last year. There was some pretty good stuff in it. Why didn't you tell me that Josh was your best friend before high school? That's something you might want to mention to your friends! I would like to know who your friends were before." _Mandy… Such a drama queen. She makes such a big deal out of the littlest things. Like the other day, for example. She got dramatic because we didn't want to do some CRAZY stunt that she put together. Something that had to do with a parachute, a para_keet_, and chili. I'd rather not explain…_

"She is right you guys. We shouldn't have read her diary. There are some things in her life that she probably wants to keep personal. I can't believe you guys talked me into it. I'm sorry, Alex. Forgive me?" _And then there's Gracie, or Gee. She is the nicest out of all of us. She has the perfect life. At least through my eyes. She has the best parents, the best life and the best friends! What's wrong in her life? Her parents are loaded with cash and she gets everything she wants, though that isn't a lot. She's the best friend I could ever ask for because she is the friend that cares for me the most. She puts others before herself. She's one of the most selfless people you could probably meet._

I smiled. "Of course, Gee! I have to finish my homework right now. I'll text you when I get to the restaurant. Ok?" They all agreed and we hung up. I finished up my homework within the next half hour, which was pretty good because I need to make sure that I look decent when I meet one of my dad's friends and his son! Ok… What to wear, what to wear…

After searching my closet, I found a beautiful dress that I had almost forgotten about. I had just bought it a month and a half ago. There was this dance I was supposed to go to with Gracie, but I couldn't get out of the house because I was too sore to even walk when I didn't make dinner the way mom had wanted it. I pulled it down and took it out of the closet. It was so beautiful, but not so dressy that it would be too much for a dinner with my mom, dad, and a friend.

The dress was made with few colors; nothing like a rainbow. It was a royal blue that sparkled only in certain lighting, with a swirl of a deep green and lavender all around the dress, dancing with the blue. The dress was strapless and had a silver lining at the top. I put it on, gentle not to tear it. Once it was on appropriately, I went in front of my full body mirror.

For once in my life, I actually looked beautiful.

I decided I would put my hair in a clip, but would curl it before doing so. That way, reddish-blonde ringlets would hang around my neck, making the dresses colors come out even more.

We were finally ready to leave. Apparently the restaurant was only a couple miles away, so we would be there pretty shortly. I pulled my phone out of my purse and sent a text to Gracie.

_'We're going to French Garden. I'll make sure that we sit outside so you can listen and everything. Just be there.'_

I sent it and stuck my phone back in my purse. "So, what's his son's name?"

My dad looked at me through the rearview mirror then focused back on the road. "I'm not too sure about his son's name, but my friends name is Robert. I think you'll like him. He's a pretty cool guy. Why do you think I became friends with him?" He smiled.

I smiled and looked out the window. Ashley, Mandy, and Gracie were only a few cars behind. I sat back in my seat and smiled again. This dinner would be interesting.

I looked around. French Garden was a pretty nice place. I wonder how much it had cost to make a reservation. This must've been important. "Dad?" He looked at me. "Can we sit outside? It's beautiful and I don't want to waste a perfect night like this."

He smiled. _Oh, yeah. We're sitting outside._ "Ok sweetie." He turned to the host. "Can we have our table outside?" The host nodded and we started to head to the table. Once out there, I started to search for Gracie's blonde hair that you would always be able to see from a mile away. _Aha! Ok, they're here. I feel much better now._ I always felt more comfortable when my friends were around. I thought to myself, it's okay. This isn't anything big. It's just a dinner… "Oh! There they are." The tall, older looking man was Robert. I'm sure of that. The boy that followed by his side was surely his son… I can't see his face… I wonder what he looks like.

Robert stepped out of the way and that's when I saw him. Wow, was he gorgeous or what? He had a few freckles and straight, brownish-red hair. He was about 5 foot 7 and looked like he was a sports kind of person, like he participated in baseball or something. "Hi, I'm David." He held out his hand while I was just sitting there like a complete idiot. Suddenly I realized that he was actually talking to me. I looked at his hand still out there, waiting for me to shake it. I shook his hand and got this extremely weird feeling all the way in the pit of my stomach.

I looked down slightly, blushed, and said, "Alexis. It's nice to meet you." I looked back up at him. Those are the bluest eyes I've ever seen… He pulled out his chair and sat down next to me. "So, what's it like here in Seattle, Washington?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. After several tries, I finally just took a sip of water and looked back at him and started to smile as I said, "Oh, you know. It's like Seattle, Washington."

He smiled and laughed, which made me smile because he thought I was funny. _That's a good start…_ "Your pretty funny…" He paused. "And cute. I like your dress. You look beautiful."

I blushed once more and smiled as I said, "Oh, um… Thank you. I uh… I like your suit…" I couldn't compliment very well when I was talking. I would've said, 'I like your tie. It's so awesome. Where'd you get it?' But that wasn't the case for me. I was focusing way too much on what to say next. I just can't seem to make conversations nowadays, so I made up an excuse. "Will you… um… excuse me? I have to go to the ladies room…" I got up and grabbed my purse. Once out of eyeshot, I ran over to Gee, Ash, and M&M (Mandy. Long story, don't ask). I was pulled down to their level.

"Oh. Em. Gee!!!!! He is totally hot!" I looked at Mandy. "What?" I started to glare at her. "Oh, I get it! You like him!" I covered her mouth because she was practically yelling. I looked around to make sure no one was listening.

"Fine. I do, but I don't really know him that well. I know him better than you guys! And besides," I said as I started to get up and head back to my table, "I call him!"

"Psh! Well, fine then!" Gracie called out. I turned around and looked at her. She just laughed silently, gave me two thumbs up and a wink when Mandy wasn't looking.

I smiled and went back to the table. I sat down and my food was sitting there. "When did I order?"

David laughed and said, "The waiter came while you were in the restroom, so I ordered for you. Don't worry; I know good food! I do cook, you know."

My mouth sorta dropped as I said, "No way! That is so cool. What can you make?"

He smiled proudly as he said, "Anything from Mac n' cheese to crème brulee."

"You can make crème brulee? Can you teach me? I really want to be a chef or something like that someday!!"

He laughed and said, "Sure."


End file.
